PETALING JAYA: Sabah and Sarawak must have greater representation in Parliament, says PBB vice-president Fadillah Yusof, who is seeking re-election to a fifth term as MP for Petra Jaya, Sarawak.
Fadillah, who was the most senior East Malaysian leader in the federal Cabinet, said the proportion of seats for Sabah and Sarawak in the Dewan Rakyat remained one of the major issues related to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) that needed to be resolved.
He said the spirit of the agreement, of the two Borneo states being equal founding partners of the federation, was not reflected in parliamentary representation.
“If you want to amend the constitution or something that touches on the rights of Sabah and Sarawak, you need a two-thirds majority.
“Right now, MPs from Peninsular Malaysia account for two-thirds of the Dewan Rakyat and they can amend the constitution without consulting Sabah and Sarawak.”
The lop-sided balance was why Sarawak’s ruling coalition, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), was looking into ways to ensure better representation in Parliament for Sabah and Sarawak, said Fadillah, who is the coalition’s parliamentary whip.
“With this understanding, I think Sabah and Sarawak will definitely be happy.
“If you look at Sarawak, there are certain groups who are very extreme and are even talking about taking Sarawak out of Malaysia.
“In GPS, we want to be a part of Malaysia but we must revive the spirit of MA63.”
It was previously reported that another 15 issues pertaining to MA63 had yet to be resolved including the states’ authority over health, environment, labour and land issues.
